Tag: Reflection

After reading: How to Fly a Horse by Kevin Ashton

When talking with potential stakeholders, there’s always a sound showing that: I just don’t like the idea of NFT, NFT is all about money. But soon I found that they even mixed the idea of NFT and crypto art, and ignored the difference between technology and art. They even don’t know what they are hating for, and they just hate it.

I know this is kind of the last stage of my project in my MA, I should focus on the stakeholders who I already reached. However, it is vital for me to understand in-depth why people are standing on the other side.

The book ‘How to Fly a Horse’ corroborated my thoughts. People tend to reject new things, or at least be sceptical. When we are in a familiar situation, the firing speed of the hippocampal cells in the brain is hundreds of times faster than in the new environment. The hippocampus connects two nerve plexuses, called amygdalae (amygdalae)-derived from the Greek word almond-responsible for our emotions. The hippocampus is connected to the amygdala, which is one of the reasons why we like familiarity and reject strangers.

When the brain has a response, we will follow suit and avoid evil. When new things appear, the hippocampus will not find relevant memories and will send strange signals to the amygdala, which makes us feel uncertain. Uncertainty is disgusting, and we always avoid this state as much as possible. Psychologists have proved this with many experiments. Uncertainty makes us like the old and dislike the new, and prevents us from accepting new ideas, even if we think we value them or are good at creating.

Those who rejected to know the NFT are rejecting most of the new things in their life. There’s nothing I can do rather just say I understand.

P.S the definition of Luddism:

Luddism was a working-class movement opposed to the political consequences of industrial capitalism. The Luddites wanted technology to be deployed in ways that made work more humane and gave workers more autonomy. The bosses, on the other hand, wanted to drive down costs and increase productivity

Intervention: My 10-People-Group and Live Streaming on Yizhibo

10-People-Community

As a result of the observation that most of my stakeholders wouldn’t read the manual or the easy version that I posted on Instagram, I decided to build a WeChat group, so that people would feel more comfortable to ask questions and express themselves when they are in a small community.

Several things we share and discuss in this group:

  • understanding and opinions about Crypto Art
  • troubles we met when we bind the NFTs
  • the news in the Crypto Art world

Live Streaming

Background

So far I’m pretty satisfied with the 10-member group and what we discussed in this community.

But I still think there’s a limit when I tried to express a complete view, due to the text itself. Besides, I found out that it would be easier when I talk with people face to face because they will understand more easily and feel free to express their ideas. Meanwhile, I could collect more feedback from a larger group to guide my next step.

Preparation

Based on the above, I’d like to make live streaming, talking about my understanding and thought about Crypto Art.

As Cai suggested, I may package the streaming more relaxed, talking along with eating. So my topic ended up with: Live eating streaming: My UK life and NFTs. Referring to the opinions of my community members, the event is set for Friday 27 Aug, 2pm GMT/ 9pm CST, on a Chinese live platform Yizhibo.

I also invited my stakeholder Yuxin who is an expert in this field to join my conversation for 30 min. I prepared several questions for her in advance.

Sent the invitations to all my social platforms to promote.

On Air
Data
  • 367 visits during the live
  • 48 replies during the live
  • 23 effective questions and thoughts
  • 1267 visits until 29 Aug 2021
Reflection
  • Becausce I invited more than 300 people to join my live by the invitation card, I talked with over 20 people what I am gonna to do detailly and ask them to prepare some questions for me, ideally as a result there were no awkward scilence.
  • There are pretty good questions during the live, and I think I provided serveral good answers as well. This would only happens in a chill vibe, rather than texts on phone.
  • I believe the public would know more about NFTs, at least they’ve heard so many times from me. And my stakeholders would knows better what NFT is as well.
  • So far so good, but how can I appeal them to deeper cooperation?
Next Step
  • Cut the video to short videos, to make use of them again

The Fear of NFTs

https://unitlondon.com/whats-on/84-group-exhibition-nftism-no-fear-in-trying/

It’s a human defence mechanism to reject the unfamiliar without giving it a chance; change is hard to stomach, something that unsettles the status quo. Human nature pushes back at first blush rather than learn about and accept something new for what it is—a potential advance and step forward. NFTs are just such a transformative phenomenon, a potential revolution in the history of art and its dissemination into the collective stream of consciousness, and commerce! This show will attempt to do what no one has done before! FOCUS ON THE ART, art from a wide, diverse universe of talent from all walks of life.

Kenny Schachter, curator of NFTism: No Fear in Trying

Reflective Writing: The “Art” in Crypto Art

I have to confess that I was so nervous every time when I was asked what NFT is or how to join NFT for the past few months since I have started this project.

Doubtlessly, this is a big question, and as everybody knows, what is behind the blockchain is a complex algorithm that 99% person would never figure out. However, I felt so pressured when I have to provide a perfect and integral answer for the question because I don’t want to let them down. 

But why should everybody know everything about NFT? 

I still don’t know how these stock works, but I buy my breakfast smoothly every day and could appreciate the artworks well in galleries. The technology thing would never be the star in the art world unless some artists wanna create some pieces about that. Art is always concerned with feeling, aesthetics is always about what we sense. It is regret that we turned away from Crypto Art just because we don’t know blockchain, besides the squares is never the thing. 

For now, I’d like to leave the techs away, focus on the art itself. What Crypto Art could be different from traditional Art? What we could bring to Crypto Art in this era? As an art lover, what can I bring to my stakeholders?

However, the stakeholders won’t change under this situation, because my role is more like an art dealer, I need to associate with artists and buyers and relevant art workers at the same time.

Fortunately, I feel more confident about what I am doing.

Intervention 2: Crypto Art Explained by Youlin on Instagram

Background

I’ve been asked so many times what Crypto Art, NFT and blockchain is, by my Chinese friends, English friends, and even new friends I met when I go swimming… However, I didn’t explain exactly the same every time, there might be some points I neglected from time to time. After my friend Duan complained again to me that the information online is too hard and too long to understand, finally I decided to sort out my own version that could be accepted by most people.

In addition, I’d like to speak for the people who couldn’t understand the concept well, among them might be well-educated people who are experts in their own fields, or even bankers and artists who are following Art news regularly, and they still couldn’t get the idea well. Because there might be too much professional vocabulary interspersed in the articles, like NFT, blockchain and Hash, which is the barrier that would never be the core in the art world.

As following is Youlin’s explanation of Crypto Art:

People used to buy artwork in galleries, the work most likely to be physical instead of digital.1

The digital art world is booming today, therefore someone proposed that it is time for people to pay the digital artist’s contribution.

Benefiting from blockchain technology2, digital artwork could be given a series of number3, which is allowing the track of the artwork. Consequently, people began trading in this world. The artwork in this world is called Crypto Art.

  1. It is always hard to trade digital artworks for some reason, for instance, everyone could download and duplicate the picture, as a result, there is no necessity for users to pay for it.
  2. this is the most difficult section to understand, but also the least important thing in the art world
  3. this is like the URL of a website, or the serial number of your iPhone
Feedback

Yusi:

  1. Another aspect starts from the banker.
  2. Will the artists be interested in it? Will they want to join it?
Reflection

My original intention to set up this version is to help people understand Crypto Art easier, help them feel less worried about complicated definitions of new words and the new technology (Neophobia). It is a stepping stone for everyone who is willing to see the world inside. Thus, it defines the characteristics of the “explanation”-short and incomplete.

I am pretty satisfied with the current version, as many of my interviewees said that this is easy to understand, which had reached my goal. But as Yusi suggested, I have to think deeper than how could I invite more gamers. Also, this is just a brief to Crypto Art, there is much more that I could talk about.

Stakeholder: Yusi Liu

Yusi Liu, <Stray Cat>, 2021

I met Yusi in 2015 when we began our bachelor degree. Now she is studying painting at Shanghai Normal University. As following is a brief of our conversation.

Crypto Art

Yusi had heart about NFTs and Crypto Art, but only a bit. She thinks she would be in the top per cent of the Chinses, cause rare students would talk about it, and even the tutors didn’t know about it. Mostly they got news from their friends who are studying abroad.

So I introduced the concept and the big news in the Crypto world to her.

Some problems we found that could not solve immediately for Chinese artists :

  • Language
  • Having no idea where and how to upload
  • Expensive gas fee

For collectors:

  • Why need to buy it?
  • The Wechat program Pingmujian (started from 2017) is a similar model logic as the platform for crypto Art, but seldom people buy in
  • Still a big question left in traditional art world, especially Chinese, only the minorities spend money on it
Where would Chinese spend money most
  • Designer toy like Takashi Murakami, Kaws
  • Digital prints for commercial purpose
Reflection

From Yusi’s perspective, promoting the digital exhibition could be a way that promotes crypto artwork. In China, most people do not know about Crypto art yet, which means there’s also a huge space to do something.

During the conversation, we also talked about our views towards Chinese and “western” painting. We both agree that they are so different that will appeal to a different audience. Though personally, I like the Chinese style more, because of the typical Chinese aesthetics, while Yusi would prefer the “western”, due to the creative expression. This is a big topic and we discussed it a lot but this is a crypto blog so I won’t talk more. Anyway, it’s good to know the different attitudes.

For the next step of my intervention, I shall focus on the promotion of digital art. Also, let more Chinese artists know more about Crypto art.

Stakeholder: Yuxin Cheng

X’Diptera, Dabeiyuzhou, 2020

Yuxin is my CSM classmate, she currently is working at BCA as a curator.

BCA is a full-category blockchain art NFT platform that integrates blockchain art creation, investment collection and education output. It is centred on MetaOpus and is committed to creating a person Encrypted art ecosystem where everyone can participate.

As following is the summary of our conversation:

BCA
  • 30-40 staff members
  • Mainly young artist (millerals, and gen Z)
  • Top artists: Dabeiyuzhou, Zhiwei Zhang (acution)
  • Aiming to develop young artists
Bohan Sun
  • Founder of BCA
  • The current development of Crypto art is inseparable from the construction of infrastructure
  • To cultivate a group of collectors
  • The current crypto art auction payment process has a high threshold
  • There is still a gap between the current national aesthetic perception level and foreign markets, we need to find ways to participate in this industry with more Chinese or local characteristics
MetaOpus
  • 80k+user, 500+ signed artitsts
  • Chinese > users from other countries
Reflection

I used to believe that some people criticize that digital art is not “real” art, but who decides what is “real” art? After the conversation with Yuxi, also the study of Bohan, I will first propose that physical art is not real art, real art only exists in digital In the world. In fact, art is art, and it can appear in any form. The reason why art is amazing is that it does not need to be widely admired, it is only created for creation.

BCA is a pioneer organisation in China, it is so lucky for me that being Yuxin’s classmate. She told me a lot of information about the BCA that I couldn’t share here, but it is so important for me to understand more about the Chinese crypto industry.

Reflective Writing: General Impression

So far I interviewed 31 people, including my friends, my teachers, and strangers I’ve never met. Some are short conversations, some are longer than we exchanged opinions. 74% of them had no idea about this topic, and most of them stand that “all I’ve seen is negative stuff about how it affects the environment”, or strongly believe that current crypto art is not about art, it’s all about cryptocurrency, this will fade away soon.

I agree with what they said, like NFT is hurting the environment, the artwork is not “art” enough. Also the instability, we don’t know if the NFT would disappear tomorrow like the Chinese government banned Bitcoin today, or it just would be abandoned by the public’s choice. But nothing you will know about the future. Everything fades away, but NFT is happening, Crypto Art is booming, and I think this is interesting. 

The NFT workers are resolving the environmental issues, we could invite more great artists into the world. We could build something different.